The Division of Youth & Family Services (DYFS) removed sisters K and C, ages 8 and 6, from their drug-involved single mother after a Newark policeman reported that the little girls had approached him one night several blocks from their home and asked if he could find her for them.  Both were promptly placed with their maternal grandmother, Mrs. M, who had been assisting her daughter in raising them.

When it became clear several months later that the placement was not going well, the Family Court Judge responsible for the case asked that a CASA advocate be brought into it.  Joan, an Advocate for less than a year, was given the assignment and appointed to the case by the judge.

Joan immediately began to familiarize herself with all aspects of the case.  She frequently visited with K and C at their grandmother’s house and visited their mother as well, even though both women lived in rough neighborhoods.  She also spoke with and visited the girls’ teachers and family members, both maternal and paternal.  Soon she was acquiring important information about K and C and their family, much of which neither the DYFS caseworker nor the Judge had known.  As a result, it wasn’t long before both began to rely on her information and to seek her opinion when decisions regarding the girls had to be made. 

Much of Joan’s information came from Mrs. M, a contentious, volatile and unfriendly woman who, until Joan entered the case, had refused to cooperate with anyone else involved in it.  Through persistence and good interpersonal skills Joan established a rapport with her and her daughter.  The girls liked her too and soon began to look forward to her visits and the books she’d bring them.  Like their mother and grandmother, they became comfortable speaking with her.

Among Joan’s early accomplishments was helping to arrange for the girls to visit other family members, including their paternal grandmother, Mrs. P, who wanted to play a role in their lives.  Before Joan’s appointment, however, she’d been unable to do so because of Mrs. M’s strong objections.  Little by little, Joan was able to overcome these and K and C began to visit with Mrs. P on a regular basis.

Over time, Joan’s observations and discussions revealed that Mrs. M was seriously neglecting the girls, failing to provide them with the supervision and care they needed.  As a result, their behavior became increasingly disruptive both at home and at school and their schoolwork suffered.  At the end of several months, K had fallen significantly below grade level but her school was unable to interest Mrs. M in this problem.  Making matters worse, in violation of the terms of the girl’s placement with her, she allowed them to go with their mother on extended, unsupervised visits.

Armed with this information, Joan concluded that K and C should not remain with Mrs. M.  Based on her observations of how they interacted with their other grandmother and the way she interacted with them, Joan recommended that the girls be placed with Mrs. P and helped persuade her to take them.  Convinced by the information that Joan had amassed, the DYFS casework and Family Court Judge both agreed with her recommendation.  The girls were removed from Mrs. M and placed with Mrs. P.

But Joan’s involvement in the case was not over.  Her calm, reliable presence helped Mrs. P deal with the inevitable difficulties that the girls’ move to a new home created.  At first, the behavioral problems they exhibited when living with their other grandmother continued.  Joan supported and encouraged Mrs. P in her efforts to deal with them.  It didn’t take long for the firm, structured and living environment of her home to have the desired effect and the girls’ behavior improved dramatically.  So too did K’s performance in school.  Thanks to her grandmother’s involvement, after years of sub-standard performance, K became an excellent student.  It soon became clear that she, like her sister, was very bright.  She repeated first grade and did so well that she skipped second going directly into third grade, the appropriate one for her age.

With K and C now happy and thriving, one important step remained…to convert their temporary placement with Mrs. P into a permanent one.  However, this couldn’t be done without the consent of their mother, or a court order terminating her parental rights, something that would have been difficult, time consuming and perhaps impossible to obtain.

Once again, Joan’s involvement in the case proved critical.  Because of the excellent rapport she’d established with Mrs. P and the girls’ mother and her successful efforts to bring the two together, she was able to get both of them to focus on how best to provide for the girls’ future.  This began with discussions in the hallways of the Family Court and gradually progressed to more regular conversations.  With Joan’s help and at her urging both ultimately agreed to a Kinship Legal Guardian arrangement in which Mrs. P would become the girls’ legal guardian, but their mother would retain the right to see them and remain a part of their lives. The Judge and DYFS caseworker enthusiastically supported this idea and took the steps needed to put it in place.

With that, Joan’s – and CASA’s – work on the case finally came to an end.  Joan had successfully accomplished the mission of a CASA Advocate: To protect the well being of a foster child as s/he navigates the perils of the foster care system and to help find him/her a safe, loving and permanent home!